The 31-year-old, who left Stamford Bridge in 2014, sustained the injury in the clash with Shanghai SIPG where his left leg tangled with defender Sun Xiang and was left at a right angle.

Chelsea, for whom he scored 14 goals in 51 appearances, wished their former player a speedy recovery. nThe Premier League club tweeted: "All at Chelsea FC send our best wishes to former striker @dembabafoot. Get well soon Demba."

The Senegal international will be a big miss for Shenhua as he is the division's top scorer with 14 goals in 18 games.